At around 11:30 a.m. on Monday, Derrick Mercer was in class when he received a one-word text message from a woman he knows who works at Bender Arena. ‘Congratulations,’ it read. Mercer replied, ‘For what?’ That’s how the senior point guard found out he was selected the Patriot League player of the year.

“I was shocked,” Mercer said. “I wasn’t expected [to win it]. I figured I’d be one of the top choices, but I didn’t expect it because we have so many good players [in the league] and I’m the type of guy I really don’t look to score much and that’s usually what stands out for those type of awards. I’m just looking to run my team and get the right person the ball at the right time. [Navy’s Kaleo] Kina and [American’s Garrison] Carr and [Navy’s] Chris Harris, who are the top scorers [in the league], it could have been any of those three. It was definitely a shocker.”